8 amazing years

I'm really behind on blogging these days. But I didn't want too many days to slip by without blogging about our special day, May 26th. I have been married 8 years now to the man of my dreams. Life really only gets better with him by my side. I was head-0ver-heals in love on our wedding day...I couldn't imagine loving him more! Oh, but there was definitely more room for more love. (If you're not sick of the lovey-dovey cheesiness then you can continue to read)

When I married Pete, I had sort of an idea of what kind of husband he would be, but I had no idea what kind of dad he would be.

He's the kind of husband that comes home from work and immediately sees what might need to be done and does it every single time (whether that's playing with the kids, cooking dinner, or cleaning up). He's the kind of husband who if he knows I have had a really hard day dealing with Avery and her skin, he will give me the keys to the car and push me out the door so that I can go have a break. He's the kind of husband who never puts himself first. He's always thinking of ways to make me happy or take care of the girls, instead of doing something for himself.

He's the kind of daddy who gets up in the middle of the night 99% of the time if one of the girl's wakes up (right now, it's Avery). This started when Avery was a baby and was nursing VERY often at night. I was so exhausted and couldn't sleep because every time my head hit the pillow I would have to wake right back up again. So, I started to even have a hard time falling asleep (since I was anticipating waking up). So, he recommended I wear ear plugs and told me he would just bring Avery to me whenever she needed to nurse, but he would take care of the rest. So, this was 2 years ago, but he still does it. Yes, I still wear ear plugs. Yes, Avery still wakes up often (though not nearly as much as when she was a baby!). He tells me he sees it like this: I need more sleep than him to function normally. He does great with 6 hours, if I get less than 8, I'm dragging all day long.

There are so many more reasons that I love him, but these are pretty amazing reasons to love this man. Happy 8 years, babe. You're the best.

Kyla's words of wisdom

Before my story, a comment about the pictures above...the girls taking a nature walk with their daddy,
Kyla finding some more beautiful spring "life" in the woods, and Avery wearing a dress. I had to get this one on camera. You always see Avery in long sleeves and pants because of her eczema. Poor girl, if she sees her bare skin, she goes after it and scratches until it bleeds. For some reason, this particular day (a few weeks ago) she was really focused on her play and actually forgot about her skin! Or at least she was distracted enough! This lasted for a full 15 minutes or so...amazing! She's so cute in a dress, I really hope one day she'll be able to wear them without scratching herself.

Okay, on with the story. So, today was a rather rough afternoon with Avery and her skin. Actually, to be quite honest it has been a very rough spring (March, April and May) with Avery's skin. "They" ranked Charlotte as the #3 worst city in the nation for springtime allergies. Yikes. We can tell!! So, while Avery was screaming in the bath, Pete was with her. I was reading Kyla a book before her bedtime. After the book Kyla gave me a huge tackling hug and held me so tight...so sweet. She said, "Mama, I'm hugging you and you're hugging me, we're carrying each other," and if that's not sweet enough she then went on to say, "it's kinda like God carrying us. He holds us tight. You know, mama, God carries babies and kids and adults."

Well, if that wasn't a word sent right from God to me tonight through my precious little girl, then I don't know what is! :-)

I'm so thankful He carries us. What a great reminder. :-)

An update on life...

I've been rather absent in the blogging world lately.

Shooting weddings with Pete, teaching childbirth classes, prenatal visits with doula clients, to and from the allergist and acupuncturists for Avery's allergies, finding out she's allergic to more and more foods and things outside, Pete getting a job interview and offer in Charlottesville, Virginia and accepting!...getting ready for a possible move...and sometimes wondering why a job near the ocean has not opened up for him (avery's doctor told us to move near the ocean)...but still we're trusting that the Lord knows best where we are supposed to be right now.

....Also wondering why the Philippines had to be put on hold due to finances, but also trusting that even though He may be calling us there, it must not be His timing to GO right now....

...all that and still trying to maintain normalicy and a rhythm of some sort to our days here...

well, those are all great stories to blog about, but it's also why I haven't been blogging...
even as I write I really need to be planning for my class I'm teaching tomorrow...so, with that said...
goodnight!